Drake files second legal action over Kendrick song

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Drake has filed a second legal action against the record label Universal Music over the promotion of Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us.

In papers filed in Texas, the star accuses Universal of defamation, and claims it could have halted the release of a song "falsely accusing him of being a sex offender".

Instead, his lawyers claim, the company "executed a plan" to make the song "a viral mega-hit" and using Lamar's incendiary lyrics "to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues".

It comes a day after Drake filed papers in New York, accusing the company of illegally boosting the song's profile on Spotify. Universal has called the claims “offensive and untrue".

“We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns," the company said via a spokesperson.

"No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments... can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”

Like the filing in New York, the latest court document is not a lawsuit.

Instead, it is a so-called “pre-action petition”, under which Drake’s lawyers can ask the court to order Universal to preserve any relevant documents and information, ahead of future legal action.

The action in Texas also involves the radio giant iHeartRadio, which operates more than 850 stations across the US.

According to Drake's lawyers, Not Like Us was "heard more than 25 million times" by listeners to iHeart stations in the four months after its release.

Citing a whistleblower, they claim that Universal potentially made "covert payments" to iHeart as part of a "pay-to-play scheme" to promote the song.

Drake's lawyers admit that they have been "unable to confirm" whether the payments went to iHeart stations, but argue that "as the number one audio company in the country", it was the most likely recipient.

If approved, the court action would compel the companies to provide any evidence regarding the accusations.

The BBC has contacted iHeartRadio for a response to the petition, but has yet to receive a response.

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As in his previous filing, Drake goes on to accuse Universal of using "bots" to falsely inflate Kendrick Lamar's streaming numbers, and of paying influencers to promote Not Like Us online - all of which the company has denied.

But the latest documents add further detail about Drake’s grievances toward Universal, the label where he has spent his entire career.

The documents claim the company knew that Lamar’s song “falsely” accused him of being a “certified paedophile”, a “predator” and someone whose name should “be registered and placed on neighbourhood watch", but chose to release it anyway.

The song was widely regarded as the decisive blow in a long-running feud between the two rappers, who had been trading barbs in their songs since the early 2010s.

Debuting at number one on the US charts, it has also been nominated for four Grammys, including song of the year.

Drake responded with a track called The Heart Part 6, in which he denied accusations of sexual misconduct and claimed to have fed Lamar "false" information through a double agent. However, the musician later deleted the track from his Instagram feed.

The Canadian star, who is one of the most-streamed musicians of all time, releases music through his own label, OVO Music, but licenses the songs to Universal’s subsidiary label Republic for marketing and distribution.

Lamar has a similar deal, licensing his records through Universal's Interscope imprint.